Mary White (Fianna Fail)

I am sorry. The motion has been tabled because a number of indigenous industries have not survived. They have not been able to switch markets, their products have gone out of date and they will have to develop new products. The State agencies for which the Minister is now responsible are sincerely focused on indigenous industry. It is much more difficult to develop indigenous industry than it is to bring in multinational companies.

The Government has the responsibility to implement a proper immigration policy and should not be afraid to bring in highly-skilled people. I did not agree with Jim Power's view on benchmarking. Benchmarking has prevented public sector strikes. We have had very smooth industrial relations since we brought it in. Even though it is a problem for companies and it puts more pressure on the competitiveness of business, I believe it has been a positive decision.

Starting up a business and surviving is a very difficult task. I often think that the only people who understood how hard it was for us were the buyers from Quinnsworth and Superquinn. They saw so many businesses which did not succeed. As Senator McDowell said, the development of indigenous industry has to be the challenge for the State agencies in the future. From the Minister's speech last week, I believe that is his goal.